[Comet]

It isn't worth it..
OP did the right thing by just running for it...

I once sounded the horn to a guy who almost hit my brand new Porsche.
the guy followed me for 10mins threatening me.. and I ignored him.. finally he cut me off, got out of the car, I got out too and I'm like "what's your problem?"
he's like "you honked at me and cut me off" to which I replied "you almost swerved into my car TWICE.. if someone did that to your car, you would have honked too and tried to get far away from him so he doesn't do it a third time...."

thank god he was like "well... yeah....." instead of being a hot head
I told him to have a nice day.. and that was it :/

being polite to the most hot headed person will calm them down

[JasonCSU]

Originally Posted by mike3000fl

There is a situation where you do not have to retreat if attempting to prevent a forcible felony. Good guys won and Mr. Martin won't be doing that again.

What felony? The kid was walking down the street back to his dad's house with a bag of Skittles and an iced tea in his hands. He had his hoodie on because it was raining. That seems pretty non threatening to me. How did the good guys win in this situation? The evidence is leaning towards Zimmerman profiling the kid, running him down, initiating conflict, then killing him. What's worse, it that it seems the local police department was helping to cover it up.

[BMWcoupe335ii]

Glad your okay OP. People today are too fucking hot headed and feel they have something to prove, and it's never good to engage in the situation. Just be careful and stay calm, my parents always told me guns were for pussys ( no disrespect at all to anyone who owns and enjoys guns) and I don't even own a gun. All I can do is pray and try to stay safe and god forbid if I'm killed by some asshole who wants to prove he's the bigger man, or better yet has a small penis, I hope I go to the right place (heaven). God bless and stay safe.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by mike3000fl

I cant speak for Texas but in Florida as a concealed weapon holder I have to avoid escalating a conflict, I can't place myself into a fight where I need to pull a gun in self defense, i have to avoid conflict and basically back down and be a pussy. He was in the wrong for escalating and then pulling a weapon.

You could have raped his dog and called him what you wanted, and he still can't pull a gun to get the upper hand in an argument unless he has an immediate fear of losing his life. If he placed himself in danger he can't pull the gun.

Even if he really was in fear and pulled the gun but didn't use it, then he wasn't really in fear of his life and was just brandishing and would still go to jail.

In some states once the immediate threat to life ends, you can't shoot someone. Like if someone raped your wife while holding a shotgun to your head, and they later threw the gun on the ground and were in the process of leaving... then you shoot them as they are walking out the door, you are the one in shit because the immediate threat to life ended when he put the gun down and started walking out.

In short... If you pull a gun you had better not have started it or had a part of the escalation, you better be in real fear of your life, and better make sure you shoot to kill and not wave it around to gain leverage. He fucked up by not meeting any of these conditions.

He should be in jail and gives legal CCW carriers a bad name.

^^ All true.


To Op.

Kind of a catch 22 here. Seems that we need your kind and his kind on the road. Kind of need guys like him to teach guys like you that you don't own the road or even "your lane". But we need guys like you to provoke people to bring the dangerous people out into the light.

You should have backed off, got is tag and reported this to the police, cause he would be in a world of shit for doing what he did. Brandishing a fire arm is a much more serious offense than most people think. If he does have a CCP they will likely arrest him based on your phone call alone. After that he'll likely lose his CCP rights for life.

[Mark_K]

OP, glad you're fine and even more glad you've learned your lesson.

This said, I strongly believe the reason for all road rage (strangely, it seems to be endemic to just U.S.) is the utter ignorance of general public about traffic laws and driving in general.

Remember when we were kids and you got punished for something and you KNEW you didn't do anything wrong? Well, that's exactly what happens during the road rage. Mentality of a 6 year old in a body of an adult plus total ignorance towards driving laws and rules = road rage. They don't even know they did anything wrong.

So, we need two things here:

a) Americans need to learn how to drive
b) Americans need to grow up

Good luck with either.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by Comet

It isn't worth it..
OP did the right thing by just running for it...

I once sounded the horn to a guy who almost hit my brand new Porsche.
the guy followed me for 10mins threatening me.. and I ignored him.. finally he cut me off, got out of the car, I got out too and I'm like "what's your problem?"
he's like "you honked at me and cut me off" to which I replied "you almost swerved into my car TWICE.. if someone did that to your car, you would have honked too and tried to get far away from him so he doesn't do it a third time...."

thank god he was like "well... yeah....." instead of being a hot head
I told him to have a nice day.. and that was it :/

being assertive & polite to the most hot headed person will calm them down

Fixed that for ya.

[cole92]

Texas law is awkward. Where I normally live, this is considered a class d felony.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by Greenkirby21

slam on brakes, remember license plate, run away.

Its harder for him to shoot behind him then in front or sideways.

Anyways OP, glad you are ok. Things like that are always scary. I don't understand how some people can get licenses. This bitch cut me off and when I honked at her she immediately braked and went from 40 to 20. Anytime I tried to go around her she would just change lanes and block me.

I was going to floor it and if she hit me it would be her fault, but instead I just took a different route home. People are crazy

This mentality i will never understand. I just don't get it. Like none of the guys here who have been cut off by other people off have never cut someone off?!?!? Sure, maybe less often than some other drivers but it's happened once or twice no?

Who gives a shit. 99.8% of the drivers that have cut you off did it by accident or out of ignorance. Neither of which will be cured by honking and driving erratically.

With regards to road rage, the nicer you are on the road the less angry you'll be. It's as much their road as it is yours.

When it happens, just let it. Wait for it to be clear and change lanes and get on with your drive. Remember it's the left, center or right lane. Not MY lane or YOUR lane.

Seriously, life is too short for this petty BS.

[The X Men]

Isn’t this situation kind of like Hiroshima? I am not saying it’s ok to pull a gun on somebody, but a show of force actually de-escalate the situation in this case.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by The X Men

Isn’t this situation kind of like Hiroshima? I am not saying it’s ok to pull a gun on somebody, but a show of force actually de-escalate the situation in this case.

This logic is flawed.

What if OP had a gun and thought he was a badass too. Then what? Two ass hats shoot at each other, completely miss each other cause they're not in the movies. But hit other innocent motorists on the road cause they're not in the movies.

No bueno.

[slowSwede]

Originally Posted by The X Men

Isn’t this situation kind of like Hiroshima? I am not saying it’s ok to pull a gun on somebody, but a show of force actually de-escalate the situation in this case.

That's like saying you de-escalate a bank robbery carrying heavy firearms whilst robbing it. Doesn't make it correct anyhow.

[Baremeg55]

Originally Posted by drummer12

That's what happens when you live in a gun happy state...remember, for all he knew you could have been packing as well...

Consider yourself very lucky. I practice patience now and just let them go, especially in Houston!!! There has been countless stories in the Chronicle and on the local networks during the past months about road rage deaths in Houston, so, you should have known better.

And no, guns aren't always factors. About two weeks ago, two guys got into a road rage incident here in H-town, got out of their cars and fought. The "victim", fearing for his life, got the other guy on the ground (while being kicked) and put the aggressor in a choke hold. The guy died. I haven't seen an update, but story goes it was in self defense and probably will not go to the grand jury.

[Baremeg55]

Originally Posted by mike3000fl

I cant speak for Texas but in Florida as a concealed weapon holder I have to avoid escalating a conflict, I can't place myself into a fight where I need to pull a gun in self defense, i have to avoid conflict and basically back down and be a pussy. He was in the wrong for escalating and then pulling a weapon.

You could have raped his dog and called him what you wanted, and he still can't pull a gun to get the upper hand in an argument unless he has an immediate fear of losing his life. If he placed himself in danger he can't pull the gun.

Even if he really was in fear and pulled the gun but didn't use it, then he wasn't really in fear of his life and was just brandishing and would still go to jail.

In some states once the immediate threat to life ends, you can't shoot someone. Like if someone raped your wife while holding a shotgun to your head, and they later threw the gun on the ground and were in the process of leaving... then you shoot them as they are walking out the door, you are the one in shit because the immediate threat to life ended when he put the gun down and started walking out.

In short... If you pull a gun you had better not have started it or had a part of the escalation, you better be in real fear of your life, and better make sure you shoot to kill and not wave it around to gain leverage. He fucked up by not meeting any of these conditions.

He should be in jail and gives legal CCW carriers a bad name.

Hmmm, in Texas, if they are in your house committing a crime, you can waste them!!! Just make sure they are inside the threshold of the doorway!

[Baremeg55]

Originally Posted by Sam335ix

You do live in a the most ass backward state in the world but with that said when someone cuts you off these days you just have to let them be. I am at fault for road rage and I have let my anger get the best of me at times but living in the DC area, you never know which punk might be packing and its just not worth it. In your case, next time slow down and tail him and get his plates really quick and call 911 because that would put his ass in jail for a few years.

LOL!!! A guy from "DC" calling Texas backwards!!! Right..

[Epacy2]

This is what I've noticed with drivers lately. I honked at a guy who wasn't paying attention at a stop light when it turned green, he looked in his rearview mirror and flipped me off. Cause he wasn't paying attention. F'ing people just think they do no wrong.
This morning I go around a FedEx truck cause he was going dirt slow coming off an on ramp to another highway, mind you the highway was 4-5 lanes wide and he flashes me the brights. I was the second car behind him and couldn't have even been on his ass.
For some reason, pretty much every driver feels they do nothing and act out at someone when it is them not paying attention. Makes me absolutely sick.

[The X Men]

Originally Posted by MP0WER

This logic is flawed.

What if OP had a gun and thought he was a badass too. Then what? Two ass hats shoot at each other, completely miss each other cause they're not in the movies. But hit other innocent motorists on the road cause they're not in the movies.

No bueno.

If the OP had a gun, I would not be surprise if he pull it out first with his anger problem and all. I think if the OP had pull out his gun 1st, the other driver would back off since nobody wants a situation where two guys are pointing a gun at each other. The smart move would have been for the OP to let the guy make his turn. For all we know, the other driver might be fearing for his life and pull out his gun to protect himself.

[BMWFanatic2008]

Originally Posted by 3er

Just as the title says, I was driving home from work today and this guy cuts me off trying to get in the turning lane.

How exactly did he cut you off (what was your speed, was he using his turn signal while going into your lane, etc)?

[panicos81]

[Takeshi]

leave the OP alone for gettting a little hot headed. He was the one that got cut off. Of course he got pissed. Who wouldn't. And whether you think he was being a dick or not is irrelevant, he didnt deserve to have a gun in his face.

OP, call the cops anyway. This might not be the first time this dumb ass has flashed his gun at ppl thinking he's the shit. And it might not be the last. If enough ppl report it, the cops might actually get off their ass and try to find him.

If anything, tell the cops you drive down that route everyday and when you see him again, you'll come back with a plate number. And having a written report of the original incident when it first happened will help the DA make the charges stick.

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by ChasVS

Gee Tom, maybe there's some question in what exactly happened? Of course, it's always better to arrest first and find the facts later... Social Justice and all.

Uh, there seem to be enough facts to at least arrest the man and charge him. If he can prove his innocence in court, then the system has worked.

But I wouldn't want to take the AutoTrain to Florida as long as he's freely walking around Sanford's streets. And I'm not black and don't care for Skittles!

Tom

[JIM E92]

Sorry you got into a road rage incident which resulted in someone brandishing a weapon. I have a friend that couldn't just let the slightest infraction go either. He would follow the offender and pull their valve stems when they weren't looking. Moral of the story: there are always bigger assholes out there, if you can't get over it, don't react then and there, maybe you should buy a tire valve stem tool instead.

[txz4]

Originally Posted by drummer12

That's what happens when you live in a gun happy state...remember, for all he knew you could have been packing as well...

Just because someone has to point it out.... Odds are this guy DOES NOT HAVE A CHL. Hes probably just some ass who bought a gun. It doesnt matter where you live, those who want a weapon will get a weapon no matter if its legal or not. Anyone whos going to just whip it out in public probably wont be too concerned with the proper permits aynyhow.